Republic of Volantia
The Republic of Volantia is the only country with an elected overlord - an elected absolute ruler. Volantia is also marred by the presence of the North Mountain kork'lac of werewolves. geographical features The northern parts of the Republic of Volantia are covered in ice, with the furthest north bits being under ice even in midsummer. There are many fast flowing rivers that come down from this ice in the summer. In the northeast these wind slowly down towards the Atarthic Sea which is to the east of the country, with most of it forming a single river by the time it reaches the sea. In the northwest they flow into one of two giant lakes - Vincarna and Lake Espar. These two lakes are separated by North Mountain, an extinct volcano. A river flows from each lake - the Lan Vincarna from Vincarna, and the River Espar from Lake Espar. Due to the source of the rivers, they are very seasonal, with many of them drying up entirely in late Autumn. The eastern half of the country is open moorland, with poor quality grasslands to the south. With nothing to interrupt the icy wind, these areas frequently plunge to extremely cold temperatures. The People Social organisation relationships with other countries Kadoria Cretasnia Carendia Avanta Teyorlis Soutartha Davasia Solafia Vincarel elections Elections are held every 10 years or on the death or incapacitation of the incumbent. A resignation can in theory be forced by a petition of landlords representing at least 60% of the nations land, and handed in personally by landlords representing at least 40% of the nations land. However this is a constitutional arrangement in case of an emergency, and has never actually been put into practice. eligibility to vote Eligibility to vote is determined by whether or not you are a landowner - all those who own land are eligible to vote. Votes are weighted based on the amount of land owned, in order to prevent people giving small areas of land to their friends to boost votes. There are no other restrictions - women, criminals and madmen are all allowed to vote if they own land. The only landowners who are not permitted to vote are those who are standing as candidates. As such candidates will typically give some of their land briefly to a trusted friend or relative, so they can use it to vote for them in the election. eligibility to stand In order to stand, someone must own at least 2 acres of land throughout the entire election process. If their land ownership falls below this then they withdraw from their candidate status automatically. They must also have the backing of someone who owns at least 5 acres of land - which can be land temporarily gifted by the candidate, so long as the candidate maintains at least 2 acres. the election process The first stage of election is for the declaration of candidate status. The election master sends out a message to all potential candidates when an election is about to be called. Anyone wishing to stand must send an immediate reply stating this intention. Accepted election advertising is limited to sending a single, short letter to everyone eligible to vote. If a candidate attempts to do more, they will typically put off the voters. The election master will also send out a list of the names of candidates. After this, there is the first round of voting where everyone who is eligible to vote sends a message to the election master stating who they wish to vote for. If the margin of the winning candidate over the second place candidate is more than 10% of the vote (after weighting) then that person is announced as the winner. Otherwise, the top two candidates can either choose to go to into joint leadership or to go into a runoff contest. run off contests Run off contests are actually the least common of the three possible outcomes mentioned above. However, when one does happen, the electioneering starts in earnest. This time round the candidate will send supporters all over the country drumming up support. Each voter will then place a second vote, and whichever candidate receives the most votes becomes the overlord. Category:countries